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Cook goes extra time in shortened game

Rockies right-hander Aaron Cook had a choice — wait for rain to blow over or pitch through a little rain. Cook pitched, and pitched.

Scheduled for two innings, Cook was efficient enough to throw three scoreless innings with strikes on 30 of his 45 pitches in the Rockies’ 4-1 victory over the D-backs at Hi Corbett Field. The game was shortened to 6 1/3 innings once a major storm hit, so Cook ensured that the teams played as much baseball as the weather would allow.

It was not a bad Cactus League debut for Cook, who knew rain was coming and smply wanted to pitch.

“I woke up this morning and said, ‘It looks nice … Let’s start the game,'” said Cook, who said since the mound was in good shape, he informed manager Jim Tracy and umpire Tony Randazzo it was better to start as soon as possible.

Cook gave up singles to Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds with two out in the first, but ended it with a Chris Young infield pop. He pitched two 1-2-3 innings after that.

“What was really neat about it was the third inning was the best of the three, and that’s not to say the first two were all that bad,” Tracy said.

The only problem with Cook’s early spring, not that it is much of one, is he has maintained his lower weight, 200. After pitching around 220 last season, he wanted to drop the weight before camp, then put on 5-10. He said the pounds are not coming back like he thought they would, but he’s fine with his metabolism.

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